Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Solo Training Regimens

While
teaching at the Hung Sing Martial Arts Association I sometimes talk to students
individually about their feelings in regards to their training progress. While
happy with the class and instruction they receive often student’s comment that
they don’t feel they are progressing fast enough. A simple solution to
the problem is usually found when looking at both the composition and frequency
of their training program. These students usually only attend a 1 hour class
1-2x per week. They also do no supplementary training outside of these class
times. Training in Kung Fu is different form a typical western style weight
training regimen. While strength training, it is essential to have rest days
between workouts and many programs advocate changing workouts frequently to “confuse”
the muscle and promote continued gains. In training Choy Lay Fut the main
concern is skill acquisition. This is done through daily training of the same
movements in order to build familiarity with the movement. Learning Choy Lay Fut
is similar to learning to drive a car. At first you may need to think about
every action you take but though many hours of countless repetition of the same
actions a season driver acts instinctively to whatever situation they may find
themselves in. It’s this kind of familiarity we seek to gain through daily
training.

Part of a video record of the training at the Hung Sing Martial Arts Association

Year
round training with no rest, even during the hottest days of summer and coldest
days of winter, hard training and perseverance are the way to learn real kung
fu

The key
to gaining progress in the practice of Choy Lay Fut is a consistent and well thought
out approach to training. With good planning and even the busiest person can
make steady gains in their training and learn the entire curriculum we teach. The
1st step is personal training regimen that can be practiced at home
on the days you can’t attend your regular class. The school I’ve trained at for
over 10 years, The Ng Family Chinese Martial Arts Association, according to Google
maps is 58.4 miles from my home. This has meant that through the years I have
only been able to attend 1 class a week on average. Yet despite this distance
and low attendance I have been able to become one of the schools top instructors
and have kept pace with my training brothers. The way I was able to do this
lies in my approach to training. The one day a week I am able to attend class I
focus not so much on “getting a workout” as I do learning and absorbing new
information. That information I acquired is then trained throughout the week in
my own personal daily training regimen.

Beginner’s
regimen

When my
students express concern that they aren’t making progress I always ask them if
they train at home. Usually the answer will be to the effect of “I don’t know
what to practice”. Each student has different weak points that need work or
different goals. With that in mind realize that no 2 student’s regimen should
be the same, also over time a student’s needs change with the progress they
make in their training. That said, a good guideline for what you need to
practice in our system is by following yourplace in the curriculumand designing your training regimen based on that place and you personal needs.

Below is
a sample base program that can be followed by a new student who is a 1st
level yellow sash

Following
this basic base routine should take roughly 25 minutes and will cover all the
basic needs of a student at this level. As a student’s needs change techniques
can be added or exercises changed to reflect the current needs of the student.

Current
Training Regimen

Below is
my current daily training regimen. This regimen is an example of what a workout
regimen will look like at the advanced stages of our curriculum. One thing to
take note of, though i have been training in this system for more than 10 years,
the fundamentals of this system are practiced 2x per day. This is done to
underscore the importance of these basic movements in everything else done in
this system. No practitioner of Choy Lay Fut no matter how seasoned is above
training the fundamentals

Each
empty hand form is paired with a weapon from(except #1 which is 3 empty hand
forms) and done with no rest. There is a 30 second rest between pairs

1.Ng
Lun Ma- Ng Lun Choi- Siu Ching Kuen

2.Siu moi
fah kuen- ng long bat gwa gwun

3.Lohan
kuen- moi fah dan dao

4.Siu kau
da kuen- moi fah cheung

5.Lin wan
kuen- serng sap jai

6.Dai kau
da kuen- wu dip serng do

7.Che sin
kuen- hung jia pang

8.Fut jerng-
dai dao

9.Gum pau
ping jang kuen- moi fah serng dao

When a
performance is coming up I focus this portion of training on 1 form and break
it into sections. I train each section 10x then practice the entire form 3x.
This is done 2 weeks prior to the performance

Strength
training

Monday/Wednesday

Forearm
routine

1.Upside
down sit ups- 3 sets of 10

2.Wrist
curl- 3 sets of 10

3.Reverse
wrist curl- 3 sets of 10

4.Reverse
curl- 3 sets of 10

5.Leverage
bar- 3 sets of 10

6.Leverage
bar twist- 3 sets of 10

7.Wrist
roller- 3 windings

Tuesday/Thursday

General
Developments Routine

1.Upside
down sit up- 3 sets of 10

2.Clean
and press- 2 sets of 10

3.Curl-
2 sets of 10

4.Overhead
press- 2 sets of 10

5.Upright
row- 2 sets of 10

6.Squat-
2 sets of 15

7.Pull
up- 2 sets of 10

8.Bench
press- 2 sets of 10

9.Hanging
row- 2 sets of 10

Though
this program seems like a lot of volume the morning session takes roughly an
hour and the afternoon session roughly takes 1 hr 45min to 2hrs. In addition to
this program which I follow Monday through Thursday Teach my students a minimum
of 2 hrs per day during which I drill and spar with them. Friday is my day of
rest, Saturdays I train at NFMA and Sunday I train students for 3 hours.

The Sifu
can only lead you to the door, you must enter it yourself

As a
martial artist it is important that you assess your goals and take the proper
steps to achieve them. With proper planning your can take advantage of whatever
time you have available to you and make the most out of it.

www.HungSingChoyLayFut.com

Sifu Chris Childs is a 6th generation instructor of Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu under Grand Master Sam Ng. Sifu Childs has practiced the Choy Lay Fut method for over 10 years and in that time has placed 1st in several national and international martial arts tournaments and has participated in hundreds of martial arts demonstrations throughout the world. Sifu Childs was certified as an instructor of the Choy Lay Fut method in 2005 by the Ng Family Chinese Martial Arts Association and received another instructor certification in 2013 by the Chan Heung Choy Lay Fut Founder Association of Hong Kong. Sifu Childs has dedicated himself to the promotion and dissemination of the Choy Lay Fut method. With that goal in mind he has authored several articles for Kung Fu Taichi magazine, taught seminars throughout the united states, published numerous videos displaying and teaching Choy Lay Fut and also continues to teach students though his own martial arts school, the Hung Sing Martial Arts Association.